The mid-nineties were a fertile period for the vampire movie. Big-name stars such as Tom Cruise and Eddie Murphy flocked to genre, as did high-calibre filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola, veterans Wes Craven and John Landis, independents Michael Almereyda and Jeffrey Arsenault, and up-and-comers Quentin Tarantino and Guillermo del Toro. Amid the fangs and crucifixes, Abel Ferrara reunited with his King of New York star Christopher Walken for The Addiction, a distinctly personal take on creatures of the night.

Philosophy student Kathleen (Lili Taylor, The Conjuring) is dragged into an alleyway on her way home from class by Casanova (Annabella Sciorra, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle) and bitten on the neck. She quickly falls ill but realises this isn t any ordinary disease when she develops an aversion to daylight and a thirst for human blood...

Having made a big-budget foray into science fiction two years earlier with Body Snatchers, Ferrara s approach to the vampire movie is in a lower key. Shot on the streets of New York, like so many of his major works including The Driller Killer, Ms. 45 and Bad Lieutenant - and beautifully filmed in black and white, The Addiction sees the filmmaker on his own terms and at his very best: raw, shocking, intense, intelligent, masterful.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

New restoration from a 4K scan of the original camera negative by Arrow Films, approved by director Abel Ferrara and director of photography Ken Kelsch
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
Restored 5.1 audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary by Abel Ferrara, moderated by critic and biographer Brad Stevens
Talking with the Vampires (2018) A new documentary about the film made by Ferrara especially for this release, featuring actors Christopher Walken and Lili Taylor, composer Joe Delia, Ken Kelsch, and Ferrara himself
New interview with Abel Ferrara
New interview with Brad Stevens
Abel Ferrara Edits The Addiction, an archival piece from the time of production
Original trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector s booklet containing new writing on the film by critic Michael Ewins

I wonder what this "world premiere of the director's cut" that's taking place in Newcastle in a couple of days is about then, as there's nothing in those Arrow specs to suggest it's anything other than the cut we're familiar with?

Lili Taylor is so good in this. Probably my favorite Ferrara film. It's a great companion piece to Almereyda's Nadja, the other black and white vampire film of this period (albeit not shot on a PXL-2000, during a vogue for this toy camera's murky look). I prefer both to Coppola's baroque novel adaptation; not a popular preference on this board, I'm guessing. Come to think of it, with Merhige's Begotten, Tsukamoto's Tetsuo, and Belvaux, Bonzel, and Poelvoorde's C'est arrivé près de chez vous, this period was quite a season for beautifully disturbing, black & white, shoe-string horror films.

Mondo Digital review, though the one thing they do not mention is that The Addiction was not the only black-and-white arty-noodly meditation on the philosophical ennui at the heart of being a modern vampire, as Nadja was released the same year. Both films would make a good double bill!

The latter would also make for a good release from Arrow etc. Both fairly different approaches to a vampire film, both really good & enjoyable too. Why not add Only Lovers Left Alive and make it a great indie triple bill.

I can’t wait to rediscover this art/horror masterpiece. It has some of the most beautifully stark bw photography in a modern film. And one of the best hip hop soundtracks. Taylor is haunting, Walken beguiling. Ferrara, Kelsch & St John in apparently perfect harmony.

The other great link between The Addiction and Nadja is that Lili Taylor starred as Valerie Solanas in I Shot Andy Warhol the next year (she was on a roll at that time!) and Jared Harris, who was in Nadja, plays Warhol!

I just watched this - my first and heretofore only viewing was when it came out on VHS. (My local art house didn't play it, sadly.) My memory of it largely revolved around Sciorra's first scene and the doctoral celebration - both still highlights, but my god what a film this is. Distressing, darkly funny, beautifully photographed, killer score, and a perhaps never better Lili Taylor. I've always loved her (how can you not?), but she is phenomenal in this. All this and a tight 82 minute running time. Great work from Arrow and all involved on this release.

One little touch I especially loved:

SpoilerShow

During the climatic bloodbath, Sciorra moves in on a victim and keeps her glass of wine in hand the entire time. It's like she's been a vampire long enough that she is able to gracefully multitask!